Nonstop flight route between Tanana, Alaska, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport (TAL), Tanana, Alaska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,841 miles (or 2,962 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport (TAL):

• The closest airport to Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport (TAL) is Manley Hot Springs Airport (MLY), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) ESE of TAL.
• Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport (TAL) currently has only 1 runway.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 3,549 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,298 enplanements in 2009, and 3,241 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport (TAL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,280 miles (16,544 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 236 feet, planes can take off or land at Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.
• The furthest airport from Thule Air Base (THU) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 9,883 miles (15,905 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
• In the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.
• In 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
• The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
• On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress from the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base.